The Daf, the large Persian frame drum, is used in Khangah
(temple of dervishes) during the zekr (spiritual chanting) ritual.
Its Pahlavi (pre-Islamic Persian language) name is Dap and Daf is
the arabicized version of Dap. Many Persian poets have alluded to
the Daf in their works; perhaps the most famous one is Molana Jalal-al-Din
Rumi.

It has become very popular these days and is now integrated into
other styles of Persian music. Indeed, the Daf is becoming more
popular around the world.

Here, we offer you nine audio samples of Sufi daf rhythms. For
broadband, click hi fi; for slower connections, click lo fi. To
download the mp3 to your computer, windows users, right click on
the word 'download' and choose 'save target as' . The transcriptions
are thanks to Jeff Senn of khafif.com
. These rhythms are also playable on the Arabic tabla, and they
are postred in MIDI at Jeff's Middle
Eastern Rhythms FAQ, along with a ton of other worthwhile
content.

Please note: All these tracks are extracted from an audiocassette
of the great work, Daf, performed by Seyyed Ataollah Salamiyye,
produced by Mahoor Culturaland Artistic Institute,
in the winter of 1997.

For more information about Daf please refer to the following articles
at Tonbak Network: